Revelation 11:1-19 Two Witnesses Seventh Trumpet Measure the Temple of God. The Two Witnesses. Two Witnesses Killed. Two Witnesses Resurrected

Transcription

1 Revelation 11:1-19 Two Witnesses Seventh Trumpet Measure the Temple of God 1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. The Two Witnesses 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. Two Witnesses Killed 7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-ahalf days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Two Witnesses Resurrected 11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed 15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"

2 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth." Temple of God in Heaven 19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. NKJV Facts Revealed: Measure the Temple of God Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. [Revelation 11:1] But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. [Revelation 11:2] The focus returns to the Temple of God. This is not a measurement as one considers structural measurement, because it is a consideration of what goes on in the Temple at the Alter, and includes the people who worship there. The holy city, Jerusalem, and the outer court of the Temple for the general congregation of the people is under the domination of Gentiles who will continue to trample over it until the time of the Gentiles is ended, which at this point is only three and a half years, (42 months) away. [Revelation 11:2, Luke 21:24, Ezekiel 30:3] This introduces the last three and a half years before the Battle of Armageddon and the end of human rule over the earth. The last three and half years are spoken of in end-time prophecies of Scripture. [Daniel 7:25, 12:7, Revelation 11:2-3, 12:6, 14, 13:5] Two Witnesses And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." [Revelation 11:3] The time frame of the Two Witnesses is the same as that of the Antichrist and False Prophet, which is the last three and half years before the Battle of Armageddon. Three and a half years is equal to 42 months, and is also equal to 1,260 days. The Two Witnesses bear witness of the Gospel of Messiah Jesus. They also bear witness of the Plagues of the Great Tribulation, showing the fulfillment of prophecy and the relationship of the plagues to the Wrath of God, Their mission is to call men to repent because the time is extremely short before the Day of Judgment. God never does anything without first revealing His intention to mankind through witness and prophets.

3 These men are clothed in sackcloth to clearly identify them with prophets of Old. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. [Revelation 11:4] The Two Witnesses are clearly identified as the two olive trees and two lampstands standing before the presence of God of the earth. [Revelation 11:4] They are identified as the Two Anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole Earth. [Zechariah 4:11-14] God has two special anointed ones who stand near Him and have a special ministry during the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation. Guesses as to their human identity have been offered by various teachers, some thinking them to be Enoch and Elijah, pointing to the fact that neither of those two died, but were taken to heaven alive, and as it is appointed for man once to die, and after that the judgment which combines Old and New Testament references. [Genesis 5:24, 2 Kings 2:1-11, Hebrews 9:27] Others guess the two to be Moses and Elijah because they were the two that appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. [Matthew 17:1-8, Luke 9:28-36] Moses was instrumental in similar plagues against Egypt as God delivered the Children of Israel from bondage. Elijah was instrumental in three and a half years of drought against the evil king Ahab and his pagan wife Jezebel. [1 Kings 17: :46, James 5:17-18] They could be altogether unknown from Scriptures, known only to God being very near to Him. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. [Revelation 11:5] These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. [Revelation 11:6] Because of their power to stop the rain, turn water to blood, and strike the earth with all kinds of plagues at their word whenever they so desire, they will have plenty of enemies. God has given them special power while they minister so that through their spoken word they will burn up their enemies with fire as from their mouths. The Witnesses Killed When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. [Revelation 11:7-8] Near the end of the three and half years they will be killed in a war with the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit. No other Scripture is given of anyone ascending out of the Bottomless Pit for positive identification of the one who overcomes the Two Witnesses. However, at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ, Satan will be released from the Bottomless Pit to tempt those who have never faced temptation throughout the Kingdom age. [Revelation 20:1-3, 7-8] Since Satan will be cast into the Bottomless Pit for a thousand years and then released, it is possible the reference is to Satan himself leading the war against the Two Witnesses.

4 They are killed in Jerusalem where our Lord was crucified, and here it is called Sodom and Egypt because of its wickedness of Idolatry and Sexual Immorality at the time of the Great Tribulation. Most any city in the world today could hold that distinction, so the best identifier is the reference to where Jesus was crucified. Their bodies are left in plain view in the street where by TV cameras the entire world will be able to watch them for three and a half days. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies threeand-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. [Revelation 11:9-10] The People of the earth will celebrate the death of the Two Witness because they had suffered by the plagues done at their will. Two Witnesses Resurrected Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. [Revelation 11:11] TV cameras still focused on their bodies as the world celebrates their death, after three and a half days God sends life into the bodies of the Two Witnesses and they stand on their feet. People of the world watching over TV see them rise up and are terrified at the sight out of fear regarding what might now happen through them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. [Revelation 11:12] This ascension has world attention as they ascend into Heaven in front of the watching eyes of the world. In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. [Revelation 11:13] Within the hour the watching world learned the impact of what was to follow the ascension of the Two Witnesses, as they witnessed so great an earthquake that a tenth of the city fell killing 7,000 people. The survivors did not miss the significant connection, and realized it was done by the God of Heaven and they gave God glory. It is too bad that foxhole conversions don't last very long, and people fall back into sin very quickly. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. [Revelation 11:14] Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" [Revelation 11:15] Heaven recognizes the beginning of the Kingdom of God and of Christ three and a half years before the Great Tribulation is ended because included in the Seventh Trumpet is the entire future of mankind. The Seventh Trumpet includes everything that follows in the book of Revelation. This mystery includes the plagues and judgments of the Wrath of God, defeat of Satan, the return of Christ and His Kingdom, the Great White Throne Judgment, the end of the Old

5 heaven and earth and the coming of the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem, River and Trees of Life, and the invitation from the Spirit and the Bride. When God has anything planned, He sees it as finished before it is begun. And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth." [Revelation 11:16-18] The Wrath of God is the plagues of the Great Tribulation. [Revelation 6:17, 15:1] The time of the dead is the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne. [Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15] The reward of the Saints and prophets is at the Judgment Seat of Christ. [Matthew 16:27, Mark 8:38, Luke 9:26, Romans 14:10-12, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 11:16-18, 22:12] The destruction of those who destroy the earth is The plagues of the Great Tribulation, the Judgment Seat of Christ, and will find its final fulfillment at the Great White Throne. Temple of God in Heaven Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. The Temple in Heaven contains the furniture required for the temple on earth. The Temple on earth was patterned after the Temple of God in Heaven. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. Great signs accompany each major phase of the moving of God in the affairs of mankind.